A Choice Of Bitter And Sweet
by iRsUpple
Summary: No one ever said Deidara couldn't favor another view of art, right? In fact, this art is the choice of someone's life. DeidaraXOC /One-Shot/


**Pairings:** Deidara X OC  
**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, Kishi would be out of a job and Akatsuki would rule the world. Hahaha, but no.

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If it wasn't for Sasori, Deidara would have been twitching. The redhead was on the couch with his eyes closed, but despite his appearance, he could easily tell that his partner was losing. Deidara had to keep his cool so Sasori wouldn't have something to laugh about later.

"She'll be taking down your queen next. Then, it'll be all over."

Son of a bitch can he tick the living hell out of the blond. Maybe it was alright to twitch right now. He cautiously took a quick glance at his opponent. There was no way that she could have predicted his move. "It was a flawless strategy!"

"You don't have strategy. Your skills in chess are the same as your skills as a ninja," She commented as she moved her arm to the board and took her bishop, sliding it across four red squares and knocking over his queen.

"You bitch…" He clenched his hands together, any tighter and she could have considered that the mouths on his hands would suffocate. If that was even possible.

Deidara slid his rook to the side and knocked over her chess piece and allowed it to hit the floor with a light thud. "Check."

She glanced at the board. To her surprise, she hadn't predicted he would use his rook and allow it to be sacrificed. She could have easily maneuvered around that without losing her king, but first was first. Moving the king would be a good start to buy time and analyze the whole formation and come up with a good strategy to defeat this dimwit.

"Shogi is much more entertaining." Deidara frowned as she took his knight and dropped it in the rectangular box the chess board and the pieces were originally placed. It was now a mess of black and white pieces. Two hours of game time could kill you.

"Move your king, Deidara."

"Don't go helping him out, Sasori." She sent him a harsh glare, which he took for granted once again. "You don't even know how to play chess."

"No, but you've explained it in a fairly simple manner, even a person such as Kisame could understand it." She quirked her brow as he mentioned Itachi's partner.

"I think fish have brains. Don't we eat them to become smart or something like that?" She played with Deidara's captured queen. It was fun to torture the blond. Very, very fun.

"You mean shark, Himeko." He graciously corrected.

"Well it doesn't really matter -- get your hands off my chess piece Deidara." She slapped his hand away and moved her own rook to take his king. "I win. Fork up the money, loser."

"What the hell is this." He stated it rather bluntly and she didn't like the sound of his response to her move. It was as if he was hoping to shake off the yen he owed her. "I didn't see that."

"Like you thought I didn't see you trying to screw up my bishop?" She slammed her hands down on the wooden table and inched closer to the blond. Her glare was the most frightening thing he ever saw. "You cheating bastard."

"What are you talking about? You didn't even let me make my move-"

"You think talking to Sasori could distract me, dumbass?" She was itching to smack the living arrogance off his face.

"The fuck I know! You two might have planed this whole thing against me! He could have used those damn chakra strings of his and controlled your movements!" It was his turn to glare. How dare this girl call him a dumbass? She deserves a rotten apple for pissing him off.

"Just because I'm familiar with how this game is played, doesn't mean you should blame me for your loss. Your moves were just too predictable." Sasori would rather eat dirt than get involved with their small quarrel.

"Plus, you aren't that stupid. You would have noticed Sasori using his chakra strings and complain about it anyway," She added to his response as she picked up the pieces and arranged them in their correct order in the box and slid it under the table.

"One day, you'll by lying on the floor. Dead. Compliments to my art." Deidara walked away after introducing the both of them to his middle finger.

"Men…" She grumbled and inwardly sighed.

Sasori closed his eyes once again. "Tell me about it."

- - -

Deidara walked around their hideout to cool off for the time being. A woman can do that to you. Anyone retarded enough to marry someone like Himeko would be writing their death wish. He knew she would do more than just chewing and spitting them out.

There goes his savings.

It was a nice view from where he stood. The window was opened wide and he could see the gray skies of Amegakure. The thing that stood out the most was the small ray of light that seemed to puncture the gloomy clouds. It was an unusual sight and was enough to keep the blond entertained for a while.

"There you are!"

"What did I do now?" He didn't want to take the chance of turning around and missing the lovely sight. It was as if Kami was going to step down from the ray of light and give this place some decent sunlight. He just wanted something to look at before he had to face the bitch behind him.

"I was actually worried. Did you get hurt running around? Bad luck usually bites you in the ass." Himeko smiled as she said that. The Akatsuki didn't really need someone like her, but she was needed until they find a decent medical ninja. Kakuzu could close wounds in whatever way he did it, but in Himeko's case, she'd rather prefer the better way of healing a wound. Even Zetsu had his little secrets on medical jutsus. He was part plant, right? Perhaps he uses his own pollen for healing purposes. She almost laughed at that thought.

"Bitter or sweet?"

That was how she met Deidara.

"I'm in a mood for bitter, un."

Lady luck seemed to love him, but when he met her, she turned his world upside-down. The poor man had to endure actual Hell.

She loved to torture him whenever she could, but it started to get old and grew into a boring habit. Nowadays, she would rather beat him in any small game to entertain herself. It was only a matter of time before Pein replaces her with a permanent medical ninja. Maybe she should lay low and let Deidara forget about her in some odd way. Bittersweet good-byes were lovely to live. The way they end makes a person's heart twist and turn until they find the ending completely essential to the plot.

"I'll see you in a bit, alright?" She handed him the dark mint in her hand as she flavored the sugarcoated candy in her mouth. Leader-sama had called her a while ago and she just had to check and make sure Deidara was alright before she left to see him.

The chess game earlier had only been for fun. Deidara knew that. However, he didn't know that he would have to face reality sooner or later. Nothing lasts forever.

"Later." He took the mint and broke it into small pieces and crunched the remaining large pieces. It gave him a grueling aftertaste, but it was worth it.

- - -

A light smile lit her face as she made her way to the front desk. "I'm ready to check out."

The man lazily opened one eye and straighten his posture as he gave her a wave of his hand. She assumed that it was alright to leave and laughed. "Aren't you around your thirties?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Bitter or sweet?" She held out two different types of mint candies. One was dark and had a red design on the clear surface. The other candy was white as snow and had a swirl of pink for the design.

"That's alright, I'm not a candy lover." He was surprised by her question. Perhaps she was trying to start a conversation.

"Bitter or sweet?" She asked again and tilted her head as if awaiting for his answer.

"Sweet… I guess." He took the mint and allowed his mouth to take the oval-shaped confection. A smile also lit his face as he sampled the flavor of the mint. It was mouthwatering, but it was also bland and left a person wanting more of the sugary sweet. "Thank you very much. This is good."

"No problem." She grinned as she stuck the drop in her mouth. It wasn't as mouthwatering as the sweet, but to her, it was delicious. Bitter was bitter. Sweet was sweet.

But they were still candy.

She made her way out of the hotel and out in the night. Her mysterious red orbs brought a quantity of extravagant roses to shame. Her eyes were her best trait, but they were not something she would deem lovely about herself. She quickly left the town that she resided in and smiled as the forest welcomed her in such a dark hour. This would be the perfect place for her body to become apart of. Perfect.

"It's been a while, huh?"

"You didn't tell me you were leaving, Himeko." Blue eyes locked onto red ones. He was not surprised at her ability to sense him

"I didn't know I was actually leaving. I just had the urge to run is all. Leader-sama is really scary when he tells people that they're going to die." He knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but he refused to smile.

"I think Itachi's Sharingan is more frightening, un."

"Really?" She blinked a few times to register what he had just said.

"No, Himeko."

She guessed it was sarcasm. Obviously, Deidara loved to screw her mind up.

"As much as I hate this organization, you do know the consequences of leaving the Akatsuki, don't you?"

"Baka," Himeko walked closer to the blond. "Didn't you say you would be the one to kill me?"

At that moment, Deidara felt a sharp pain in his chest. He hadn't meant it when he said that, but it was too late now. He hadn't realized how much he had hurt her. Smiles don't always cover everything.

He was just too blind to realize it sooner.

She knew Deidara or Sasori had to take responsibility for her actions. She couldn't live with the information she had obtained when she was in the organization.

"Himeko…" He didn't know what to say. Deidara didn't expect something like this could happen.

"Bitter or sweet?"

He could not disobey his orders. Even if he was forced to join the Akatsuki, he had morals.

"Both."

"Both?" She thought about it for a second, but smiled when she combined those two words. "Bittersweet! Bittersweet… what a wonderful feeling!"

"It's just candy, Himeko." His voice had betrayed him. He wanted to stay as calm as possible, but the pressure was getting to him.

"Bittersweet… What a Deidara thing to say." Himeko laughed as she held both mints close to her heart. She allowed chakra to mend the taste and look of the candy.

She could be so childish sometimes. This sort of personality fed to her kindness and warmth.

"Like life, candy is a choice. When a child gets excited by colorful things, they become amused. They see and learn. Have you learned anything at all?" She examined the mint in her hands as she spoke.

"Have I learned anything?" He repeated.

"Why do you always choose the bitter piece?"

"Because I loved the taste it gave me regardless of it being bitter at all." It took him a while to answer, but when he did, Himeko laughed.

"Sweet does that too!"

"Yes but," He took the candy in her hands and studied the light designs around it. "The way you make confections is pretty unique. Unlike the sweet mint, the bitter just felt like the right one to choose."

"Why?"

_Why, you say?_

"Because, unlike the sweet mint, the bitter one held a memorable taste." He felt the surface of the hard candy. It was smooth and sticky at the same time. In an instant, he slipped it in his mouth and flavored the mint. "And this one was made from your heart."

"Choices in life are absolutely wonderful, aren't they?" She handed him the kunai that was in her holster. "Everything you have been through, everything you have ever done, every choice you have ever made, every step you have ever taken has prepared you for this exact moment in your life. To understand this beyond question liberates you from victimhood, blamehood and perpetrator. Freedom is a gift."

_And you have the freedom to decide what my life is to you._

He didn't need to choose. He knew the answer. The mint melted in his mouth and gave a loving taste that only she could make. That only she could create.

"You were always the one that insisted on candy every time I eat something." He allowed a grin to overcome his frown as he tossed the kunai to a nearby tree. He could never kill someone like Himeko.

At that moment, Himeko knew that this was goodbye. Bittersweet as it may be, it was the perfect farewell. Bitter and sweet…

Yes, it was about time the two flavors combined. It was a much better form of art than she had ever hoped to imagine.

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_******Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the more the artist does, the better. Art is created by mind and soul while the world is created only to be destroyed by human kind.**_

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-**Poke**-

Review?

:3


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